How To Set Up and Use iCloud Photos on Windows 10

How to set up and use iCloud Photos on Windows 10 – Of course, Apple would prefer you to use a Mac alongside your iPhone or iPad, but it’s not silly enough to assume that folks would give up their Windows PCs and tamper with their hardware. 

Hence, some of the core services that you will be using on these mobile devices are also available for Windows.

ICloud Photos is one specific service. Sharing your iPhone or iPad photos with your Windows 10 PC, once you’ve set it up, is a relatively easy way. Here’s what you need to know.

How to download, install and set up iCloud for Windows

Before you do anything you need to have iCloud for Windows installed and set up. The good news is that it’s an easy process. The best news yet is that we have a complete guide for you to run through, step by step.

How to enable iCloud Photos on your iPhone or iPad

Needless to say, before you can share anything with your Windows 10 PC you need to make sure you have everything on your iOS device enabled. If you need help with that, check out the guide linked below courtesy of our friends at iMore .ad
How to enable iCloud Photo Library on your iPhone and iPad.

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How to enable sync on Windows 10

If you have not already noticed it in the first step, the next thing you need to do is enable iCloud Photos in iCloud for Windows.

1. Open the Start Menu and navigate to the iCloud folder.
2. In there, you need the iCloud App .
3. In the box that pops up, check the box next to Photos.

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Choose what to synchronize

In the box that enables Photos in the previous step, you will also see a button labeled Options next to Photos. This is where you choose what you want to sync with your computer.

Click on Options and you will be presented with what you see in the image above. Here’s what you can do:

• ICloud Photo Library : Upload your computer’s photo library to your iCloud storage.
• Photostream : This is a pretty simple way to share your iPhone and iPad photos with all of your iCloud enabled devices. It will share everything you take and sync it with your Windows 10 PC, but it will work in reverse and allow you to sync photos from your PC then with iCloud and any iPhone, iPad, Mac or Apple TV is up for him.
• ICloud Photo Sharing : Select the people you want to share photos with and let them add photos, videos, and comments. Correct comments will be displayed in the folder when you open it in Windows 10.
• Download and Upload new photos and videos to and from your PC.

You can also change the folder where synced photos go. By default, it will be set to go into Pictures or iCloud Photos, but you can change that to another one you want.

How to Add iCloud Photos to Quick Access

The steps above will leave you in a position where iCloud will sync your photos with your computer. The photos themselves will reside in the folder specified in the previous step, but iCloud for Windows installs a ‘desktop app’ for faster and easier management.

It’s not just a desktop app as you might imagine. To find it you can go into the ‘iCloud’ folder in the Start menu and find iCloud Photos, or just open File Explorer. ICloud Photos will be placed there, under Devices and Drives in This PC.

• To add Quick Access in File Explorer, right-click on iCloud Photos and select Pin to Quick Access.
• To pin the Start menu, right-click on iCloud Photos and select Pin to Start.

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How to Add Photos to a Folder or Photostream

When you open iCloud Photos while viewing your folders or Photostream you can upload new photos right from your computer. Follow these steps:

1. Open where you want to share new photos with.
2. Above the main search window Add photos or videos. (See image above.)
3. Select the photos from your computer.
4. When you are ready, hit done.

The photos you have selected will soon be available on the devices and others you allow access to.

How to create a new shared album

If you want to share a specific set of photos with friends or family who also use iCloud, there is a very easy way to do it. Do this:

1. Open where you want to share new photos with.
2. Above the main window search New shared album.
3. Enter the email addresses of the people you want to share with.
4. Give the album a name.
5. Click Next.
6. Select all the photos you want to take from your computer.
7. Click Done.

Now all the photos you added to the folder will be synced with the devices of everyone you shared with. It’s important to remember that you need to add their iCloud email addresses, which may be different than their regular email addresses, so always make sure to check if you’re in doubt.

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How to unsubscribe from shared folders

If someone has shared a folder with you through iCloud but you are done with it and want to unsubscribe, you can also do so from iCloud for Windows. Follow these quick steps:

1. Select the folder you want to unsubscribe from.
2. Right click on it
3. Click Unsubscribe in the bottom left hand corner.

You will no longer see any photos from these folders.

You may not get as wide a range of features as macOS, but at least Apple provides a comprehensive, if a little basic, way to keep your iCloud Photo Library in order on Windows 10. And you can move photos now both ways, as well as viewing and editing photos on Windows 10.

For more information on iCloud Photo Library, be sure to visit our friends at iMore and check out their final guide .

We’ve done a comprehensive check through this guide to make sure it has all the information you need to get the most out of iCloud Photos on Windows.